Mughal Empire
(Persian) }} (Urdu)|conventional_long_name = Mughal Empire|common_name = Mughal Empire|continent = Asia|religion = Islam (1526–1582) Din-e Ilahi (1582–1605) Islam (1605–1857)|region = South Asia|country = India |era = Early modern|status = Empire|status_text = |empire = |government_type = Absolute monarchy, unitary state with federal structure |year_start = 1526|year_end = 1857|year_exile_start = |year_exile_end = |event_start = Battle of Panipat|date_start = 21 April|event_end = Indian Rebellion|date_end = 10 May|event1 = |date_event1 = |event2 = |date_event2 = |event3 = |date_event3 = |event4 = |date_event4 = |event_pre = |date_pre = |event_post = |date_post = |p1 = Timurid dynasty|flag_p1 = |image_p1 = |p2 = Delhi Sultanate|flag_p2 = |image_p2 = |p3 = Suri dynasty|flag_p3 = |image_p3 = |p4 = Adil Shahi dynasty|flag_p4 = |image_p4 = |p5 = Sultanate of Bengal|flag_p5 = |image_p5 = |p6 = Deccan Sultanates|flag_p6 = |image_p6 = |s1 = Maratha Empire|flag_s1 = Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border_s1 = no|image_s1 = |s2 = Durrani Empire|flag_s2 = Flag of the Abdali Afghan Tribes.jpeg|s3 = British Raj|flag_s3 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg|s4 = Hyderabad State|flag_s4 = Asafia flag of Hyderabad State.png|s5 = Nawab of Carnatic|flag_s5 = Nawab flag.GIF|s6 = Nawab of Bengal|flag_s6 = |s7 = Nawab of Awadh|flag_s7 = Flag of Awadh.svg|border_s7 = no|s9 = Kingdom of Mysore|flag_s9 = Flag of Mysore.svg|s10 = Bharatpur State|flag_s10 = Flag of Bharatpur.svg|image_flag = Flag of the Mughal Empire.svg|flag_border = no|flag_alt = Flag of the Mughal Empire|flag = Flag of the Mughal Empire|flag_type = |image_coat = |coat_alt = |symbol = |symbol_type = |image_map = Mughal1700.png|image_map_alt = Map of the Mughal Empire.|image_map_caption = The Mughal Empire during the reign of Aurangzeb |image_map2 = |image_map2_alt = |image_map2_caption = |capital = Agra (1526–1571) Fatehpur Sikri (1571–1585) Lahore (1585–1598) Agra (1598–1648) Shahjahanabad/Delhi (1648–1857)|capital_exile = |latd = |latm = |latNS = |longd = |longm = |longEW = |national_motto = |national_anthem = |common_languages = Persian (official and court language) Chagatai Turkic (only initially) Urdu (later period)|currency = Rupee |leader1 = Babur Beg (first)|leader2 = Bahadur Shah II (last)|year_leader1 = 1526–1530|year_leader2 = 1837–1857|title_leader = EmperorThe title (Mirza) descends to all the sons of the family, without exception. In the Royal family it is placed after the name instead of before it, thus, Abbas Mirza and Hosfiein Mirza. Mirza is a civil title, and Khan is a military one. The title of Khan is creative, but not hereditary. pg 601 Monthly magazine and British register, Volume 34 Publisher Printed for Sir Richard Phillips, 1812 Original from Harvard University |representative1 = |representative2 = |representative3 = |representative4 = |year_representative1 = |year_representative2 = |year_representative3 = |year_representative4 = |title_representative = |deputy1 = |deputy2 = |deputy3 = |deputy4 = |year_deputy1 = |year_deputy2 = |year_deputy3 = |year_deputy4 = |title_deputy = |legislature = |house1 = |type_house1 = |house2 = |type_house2 = |stat_year1 = 1700 Population source:}}|stat_area1 = 4500000|stat_pop1 = 150000000|stat_year2 = |stat_area2 = |stat_pop2 = |stat_year3 = |stat_area3 = |stat_pop3 = |stat_year4 = |stat_area4 = |stat_pop4 = |stat_year5 = |stat_area5 = |stat_pop5 = |footnotes = |today = }} The Mughal Empire (also Mog(h)ul, ; , after 's title , the Persianized form of the Mongolian , 'son-in-law,' a title he assumed after his marriage to a Genghisid princess.}} }}, , ) was an empire extending over large parts of the Indian subcontinent and ruled by a dynasty of Chaghtai-Turkic origin. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the founder Babur's victory over Ibrahim Lodi in the first Battle of Panipat (1526). It reached its peak extent under Aurangzeb, and declined rapidly after his death (in 1707) under a series of ineffective rulers. The empire's collapse followed heavy losses inflicted by the smaller army of the Maratha Empire in the Deccan Wars, which encouraged the Nawabs of Bengal, Bhopal, Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Shah of Afghanistan to declare their independence from the Mughals. Following the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1818, the emperor became a pensioner of the Raj, and the empire, its power now limited to Delhi, lingered on until 1857, when it was dissolved in the wake of the Indian Rebellion in that year. The Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turko-Mongols from Uzbekistan, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan (through his son Chagatai Khan) and Timur. At the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent, extending from Bengal in the east to Kabul & Sindh in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles). The "classic period" of the empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, India enjoyed economic progress as well as religious harmony, and the monarchs were interested in local religious and cultural traditions. Akbar was a successful warrior; his reign also brought Persian cultural influence to its zenith in India, and the resulting Indo-Persian synthesis outlived the Mughals.AKBAR I – Encyclopaedia Iranica. Iranicaonline.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-12. He also forged martial alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to Mughal dominance of northwestern India, but they were subdued by Akbar. Most Mughal emperors were Muslims. However Akbar in the latter part of his life, and Jahangir, were followers of a new religion called Deen-i-Ilahi, as recorded in historical books like Ain-e-Akbari & Dabestan-e Mazaheb. The reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several large monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi, and the Lahore Fort. The Mughal Empire reached the zenith of its territorial expanse during the reign of Aurangzeb and also started its terminal decline in his reign due to Maratha military resurgence under Shivaji Bhosale. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 1.25 million square miles, ruling over more than 150 million subjects, nearly 1/4th of the world's population, with a combined GDP of over $90 billion. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Moghul armies, and won over several Mughal provinces from the Deccan to Bengal, and internal dissatisfaction arose due to the weakness of the Mughal Empire's administrative and economic systems, leading to the declaration of independence by the Nawabs of Bengal, Bhopal, Oudh, Carnatic, Rampur, the Nizam of Hyderabad and Shah of Afghanistan. In 1739, the Mughals were defeated in the Battle of Karnal by the forces of Nader Shah. Mughal power was severely limited and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and was therefore tried by the British for treason, imprisoned, exiled to Rangoon and the last remnants of the empire were taken over by the British Raj. Early history , gold, rubies and emeralds. Blade of Damascene steel inlaid with gold.]] was the godfather of the Mughal Empire.]] Babur and his army at Urvah valley in Gwalior.]] Akbar shoots a Rajput leader, using a Matchlock, during the Siege of Chittorgarh.]] The name Mughal is derived from the original homelands of the Timurids, the Central Asian steppes once conquered by Genghis Khan and hence known as Moghulistan, "Land of Mongols". Although early Mughals spoke the Chagatai language and maintained some Turko-Mongol practices, they became essentially PersianizedRobert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in historical perspective, Cambridge University Press, 1991. pg 20: "The Mughals – Persianized Turks who invaded from Central Asia and claimed descent from both Timur and Genghis – strengthened the Persianate culture of Muslim India" and transferred the Persian literary and high culture to India, thus forming the base for the Indo-Persian culture and the spread of Islam in South Asia. Zahir ud-din Muhammad Babur acquired Kabulistan in 1504, and decided to regain the territories in Hindustan held once by Turks. He started his exploratory raids in September 1519 when he visited the Indo-Afghan borders to suppress the rising by Yusufzai tribes. He undertook similar raids up to 1524 and had established his base camp at Peshawar. Finally in 1526 in his fifth attempt, Babur defeated the last of the Delhi Sultans, Ibrahim Shah Lodi, at the First Battle of Panipat. To secure his newly founded kingdom, Babur then had to face the formidable Indian king Rana Sanga of Chittor, at the Battle of Khanwa. Rana Sanga offered stiff resistance but was defeated.Jeremy Black, "The Mughals Strike Twice," History Today (Apr 2012) 62#4 pp 22–26 Babur's son Humayun succeeded him in 1530, but suffered reversals at the hands of the Pashtun Sher Shah Suri and lost most of the fledgling empire before it could grow beyond a minor regional state. Humayun crossed the rough terrain of the Makran with his wife until their son Akbar was born in the fortress of Umarkot in Sind. From 1540, Humayun became ruler in exile, reaching the court of the Safavid rule in 1554 while his force still controlled some fortresses and small regions. During 1553–1556, the Hindu king, Hemu Vikramaditya acceded to the throne of Delhi by defeating forces of the Mughal Emperor Akbar at Agra and Delhi. After the battle of Sirhind in which Sikandar Sur was defeated, Humayun was able to recapture his throne, but was not able to rule it for long, as in January, 1556, he died by slipping from the famous building known as Din Panah. However, the Mughals reestablished their rule after Akbar's army defeated Hemu during the Second Battle of Panipat. Akbar succeeded his father on 14 February 1556. He became known as Akbar, as he was a wise ruler, setting high but fair taxes. He was more inclusive in his approach to the non-Muslim subjects of the Empire. He investigated the production in a certain area and taxed inhabitants one-fifth of their agricultural produce. He also set up an efficient bureaucracy and was tolerant of religious differences which softened the resistance by the locals. He made alliances with Rajputs and appointed native generals and administrators. Later in life, he devised his own brand of syncretic philosophy based on tolerance.Ahmad Bashir, Akbar the Great Mughul: His New Policy and His New Religion (2009) Jahangir, son of Emperor Akbar, ruled the empire from 1605–1627. In October 1627, Shah Jahan, son of Emperor Jahangir succeeded to the throne, where he inherited a vast and rich empire. At mid-century this was perhaps the greatest empire in the world. Shah Jahan commissioned the famous Taj Mahal (1630–1653) in Agra which was built by the Persian architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri as a tomb for Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. By the late 17th century, the empire reached its peak under the leadership of Aurangzeb Alamgir when it included almost all of present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and most of Afghanistan, and parts of what are today Tajikistan and Nepal.Fergus Nicoll, Shah Jahan: The Rise and Fall of the Mughal Emperor (2009) Mughal dynasty Bahadur Shah II to celebrate the feast of the Eid ul-Fitr in 1843.]] to Cape Comorin. ]] The Mughal Empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent between the mid-16th century and the early 18th century. Founded in 1526, it officially survived until 1858, when it was supplanted by the British Raj. The dynasty is sometimes referred to as the Timurid dynasty as Babur was descended from Timur. The Mughal dynasty was founded when Babur, hailing from Ferghana (Modern Uzbekistan), invaded parts of northern India and defeated Ibrahim Shah Lodhi, the ruler of Delhi, at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. The Mughal Empire superseded the Delhi Sultanate as rulers of northern India. In time, the state thus founded by Babur far exceeded the bounds of the Delhi Sultanate, eventually encompassing a major portion of India and earning the appellation of Empire. A brief interregnum (1540–1555) during the reign of Babur's son, Humayun, saw the rise of the Afghan Suri Dynasty under Sher Shah Suri, a competent and efficient ruler in his own right. However, Sher Shah's untimely death and the military incompetence of his successors enabled Humayun to regain his throne in 1555. However, Humayun died a few months later, and was succeeded by his son, the 13-year-old Akbar the Great. The greatest part of the Mughal expansion was accomplished during the reign of Akbar (1556–1605). The empire was maintained as the dominant force of the present-day Indian subcontinent for a hundred years further by his successors Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. The first six emperors, who enjoyed power both de jure and de facto, are usually referred to by just one name, a title adopted upon his accession by each emperor. The relevant title is bolded in the list below. Akbar the Great initiated certain important policies, such as religious liberalism (abolition of the jizya tax), inclusion of natives in the affairs of the empire, and political alliance/marriage with the Indian rulers of north India, that were innovative for his milieu; he also adopted some policies of Sher Shah Suri, such as the division of the empire into sarkar raj, in his administration of the empire. These policies, which undoubtedly served to maintain the power and stability of the empire, were preserved by his two immediate successors but were discarded by Emperor Aurangzeb who spent nearly his entire career expanding his realm, beyond the Urdu Belt, into the Deccan and South India, as well as into Assam in the east; this venture provoked resistance from the Marathas, Sikhs, Jats and Ahoms. Decline and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, during the Third Battle of Panipat and restore the Mughal Empire to Shah Alam II.S. M. Ikram (1964). "XIX. A Century of Political Decline: 1707–1803". In Ainslie T. Embree. Muslim Civilization in India. New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved 5 November 2011.]] The main outside force contributing to the destruction of the Mughal Empire was the Hindu Maratha Empire. Chatrapati Shivaji declared "Hindu Swarajya" (Independence for Hindus) and raised an army that could outfight the larger Mughal armies. Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav, one by one, eliminated most of the Mughal generals. Mountstart Elphinstone call this period a demolishing period for "Mussalmans" with many of them losing spirit to fight against the Maratha army. Aurangzeb lead Mughals in the war of 27 years with Marathas in which Mughal suffered defeat with heavy losses. In 1706, just a few months before Aurangzeb's death, his son Prince Bakht was routed by Maratha General Dhanaji in South Gujarat. Defeats of the imperial army brought disgrace to the throne, and its helplessness was apparent after Aurangzeb's death. Maratha Prime Minister Peshwa made deep inroads ravaging Mughal outposts in much of the Indian Subcontinent in the subsequent years. After Aurangzeb's death, Shivaji's grandson Shahu was released by the Mughals, which brought some peace between the Marathas and Mughals. However, the Marathas continued to expand their Empire. Peshwa Vishwanath Balaji Rao ravaged Mughal Deccan territory and forced the Mughal emperor to make "Chatrapati Shahu" the viceroy of Deccan. It was, however,Vishwanath's son Baji Rao I who is credited with overthrowing Mughal control from Deccan to the Punjab and from Bengal to Sindh; Sir Jadunath Sarka calls him the "Second Shivaji". Assuming the post of Peshwa at 19 years age, he started invading northern Mughal strongholds. In 1728, he defeated Nizam in the Battle of Palkhed, and in 1729, defeated Muhammad Khan Bangash at Bundelakhand. None of the Muslim generals were able to stop him, and by 1735, he had annexed Rajasthan and Bundelkhand. In 1737, he invaded and plundered Delhi itself. Under Amir Khan Umrao Al Udat, he sent 8,000 troops to drive away the 5,000 Maratha cavalry soldiers. Baji Rao, however, easily routed the novice Mughal general and the rest of the imperial Mughal army fled. http://www.google.co.in/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=amir+khan+baji+rao+delhi&btnG= In 1737, in the final defeat of Mughal Empire, the commander-in-chief of the Mughal Army, Nizam-ul-mulk, was routed at Bhopal by the Maratha army. This essentially brought an end to the Mughal Empire. The final blow came from Nadir Shah in 1739. For the next century the Mughal emperors had authority only over Delhi. In 1857, Emperor Bahadur Shah II—a mystic who led a renaissance in poetry—supported the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was overthrown by the British, his sons killed, and the last remnant of the Mughal empire was absorbed into the British Raj.William Dalrymple, The Last Mughal (2007) Historiography garrison of Kandahar, a miniature painting from the Padshahnama depicting the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's successful capture of the city in the year 1638. ]] Historians have offered numerous explanations for the rapid collapse of the Mughal Empire between 1690 and 1720, after a century of growth and prosperity. In fiscal terms the throne lost the revenues needed to pay its chief officers, the emirs (nobles) and their entourages. The emperor lost authority, as the widely scattered imperial officers lost confidence in the central authorities, and made their own deals with local men of influence. The imperial army, bogged down in long, futile wars against the more aggressive Marathas, lost its fighting spirit. Finally came a series of violent political feuds over control of the throne. After the execution of emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1719, local Mughal successor states took power in region after region.J. F. Richards, "Mughal State Finance and the Premodern World Economy," Comparative Studies in Society and History, (1981) 23#2 pp. 285–308 in JSTOR Contemporary chroniclers bewailed the decay they witnessed, a theme picked up by the first British historians who wanted to underscore the need for a British-led rejuvenation. Since the 1970s historians have taken multiple approaches to the decline, with little consensus on which factor was dominant. The psychological interpretations emphasize depravity in high places, excessive luxury, and increasingly narrow views that left the rulers unprepared for an external challenge. A Marxist school (led by Irfan Habib and based at Aligarh Muslim University) emphasizes excessive exploitation of the peasantry by the rich, which stripped away the will and the means to support the regime.Irfan Habib, "Potentialities of Capitalistic Development in the Economy of Mughal India," Journal of Economic History (1969) 29#1 pp. 32–78 in JSTOR Karen Leonard has focused on the failure of the regime to work with Hindu bankers, whose financial support was increasingly needed; the bankers then helped the Maratha and the British.Karen Leonard, "The 'Great Firm' Theory of the Decline of the Mughal Empire', Comparative Studies in Society and History (1979) 21#2 in JSTOR In a religious interpretation, some scholars argue that the Hindu Rajputs revolted against Muslim rule.Robert C. Hallissey, The Rajput Rebellion against Aurangzib (U. of Missouri Press, 1977) Finally other scholars argue that the very prosperity of the Empire inspired the provinces to achieve a high degree of independence, thus weakening the imperial court. List of Mughal emperors Influence on the Indian subcontinent Mughal influence on South Asian art and culture , during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.]] A major Mughal contribution to the Indian subcontinent was their unique architecture. Many monuments were built by the Muslim emperors, especially Shahjahan, during the Mughal era including the UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj Mahal, which is known to be one of the finer examples of Mughal architecture. Other World Heritage Sites include Humayun's Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, the Red Fort, the Agra Fort, and the Lahore Fort ' The palaces, tombs, and forts built by the dynasty stands today in Agra, Aurangabad, Delhi, Dhaka, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Lahore, Kabul, Sheikhupura, and many other cities of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.Ross Marlay, Clark D. Neher. 'Patriots and Tyrants: Ten Asian Leaders' pp.269 ISBN 0847684423 With few memories of Central Asia, Babur's descendents absorbed traits and customs of the Indian Subcontinent, and became more or less naturalised. Mughal influence can be seen in cultural contributions such as : * Centralised, imperialistic government which brought together many smaller kingdoms. * Persian art and culture amalgamated with Indian art and culture. * New trade routes to Arab and Turkic lands. * The development of Mughlai cuisine. * Mughal Architecture found its way into local Indian architecture, most conspicuously in the palaces built by Rajputs and Sikh rulers. * Landscape gardening Although the land the Mughals once ruled has separated into what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, their influence can still be seen widely today. Tombs of the emperors are spread throughout India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The Mughal artistic tradition was eclectic, borrowing from the European Renaissance as well as from Persian and Indian sources. Kumar concludes, "The Mughal painters borrowed individual motifs and certain naturalistic effects from Renaissance and Mannerist painting, but their structuring principle was derived from Indian and Persian traditions."R. Siva Kumar, "Modern Indian Art: a Brief Overview," ''Art Journal (1999) 58#3 pp 14+. Urdu language Although Persian was the dominant and "official" language of the empire, the language of the elite later evolved into a form known as Urdu. Highly Persianized and also influenced by Arabic and Turkic, the language was written in a type of Perso-Arabic script known as Nastaliq, and with literary conventions and specialized vocabulary being retained from Persian, Arabic and Turkic; the new dialect was eventually given its own name of Urdu. Compared with Hindi, the Urdu language draws more vocabulary from Persian and Arabic (via Persian) and (to a much lesser degree) from Turkic languages where Hindi draws vocabulary from Sanskrit more heavily. Modern Hindi, which uses Sanskrit-based vocabulary along with Urdu loan words from Persian and Arabic, is mutually intelligible with Urdu. Today, Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and also an important co-official language in India. Mughal society coin made during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II.]] The Indian economy remained as prosperous under the Mughals as it was, because of the creation of a road system and a uniform currency, together with the unification of the country.John F. Richards, The Mughal Empire (1996) pp 185–204 Manufactured goods and peasant-grown cash crops were sold throughout the world. Key industries included shipbuilding (the Indian shipbuilding industry was as advanced as the European, and Indians sold ships to European firms), textiles, and steel. The Mughals maintained a small fleet, which merely carried pilgrims to Mecca, imported a few Arab horses in Surat. Debal in Sindh was mostly autonomous. The Mughals also maintained various river fleets of Dhows, which transported soldiers over rivers and fought rebels. Among its admirals were Yahya Saleh, Munnawar Khan, and Muhammad Saleh Kamboh. The Mughals also protected the Siddis of Janjira. Its sailors were renowned and often voyaged to China and the East African Swahili Coast, together with some Mughal subjects carrying out private-sector trade. Cities and towns boomed under the Mughals; however, for the most part, they were military and political centres, not manufacturing or commerce centres.K. N. Chaudhuri, "Some Reflections on the Town and Country in Mughal India," Modern Asian Studies (1978) 12#1 pp. 77–96 Only those guilds which produced goods for the bureaucracy made goods in the towns; most industry was based in rural areas. The Mughals also built Maktabs in every province under their authority, where youth were taught the Quran and Islamic law such as the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri in their indigenous languages. The Bengal region was especially prosperous from the time of its takeover by the Mughals in 1590 to the seizure of control by the British East India Company in 1757.Tirthankar1 Roy, "Where is Bengal? Situating an Indian Region in the Early Modern World Economy," Past & Present (Nov 2011) 213#1 pp 115–146 In a system where most wealth was hoarded by the elites, wages were low for manual labour. Slavery was limited largely to household servants. However some religious cults proudly asserted a high status for manual labour.Shireen Moosvi, "The World of Labour in Mughal India (c.1500–1750)," International Review of Social History (Dec 2011) Supplement S, Vol. 56 Issue S19, pp 245–261 The nobility was a heterogeneous body; while it primarily consisted of Rajput aristocrats and foreigners from Muslim countries, people of all castes and nationalities could gain a title from the emperor. The middle class of openly affluent traders consisted of a few wealthy merchants living in the coastal towns; the bulk of the merchants pretended to be poor to avoid taxation. The bulk of the people were poor. The standard of living of the poor was as low as, or somewhat higher than, the standard of living of the Indian poor under the British Raj; whatever benefits the British brought with canals and modern industry were neutralized by rising population growth, high taxes, and the collapse of traditional industry in the nineteenth century. Science and technology headed the task of creating a seamless celestial globe using a secret wax casting method, the famous celestial globe was also inscribed with Arabic and Persian inscriptions. ]] Astronomy The 16th and 17th centuries saw a synthesis between Islamic astronomy and Indian astronomy, where Islamic observational techniques and instruments were combined with Indian computational techniques. While there appears to have been little concern for theoretical astronomy, Mughal astronomers continued to make advances in observational astronomy and produced nearly a hundred Zij treatises. Humayun built a personal observatory near Delhi. The instruments and observational techniques used at the Mughal observatories were mainly derived from the Islamic tradition. In particular, one of the most remarkable astronomical instruments invented in Mughal India is the seamless celestial globe. Alchemy Sake Dean Mahomed had learned much of Mughal Alchemy and understood the techniques used to produce various alkali and soaps to produce shampoo. He was also a notable writer who described the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and the cities of Allahabad and Delhi in rich detail and also made note of the glories of the Mughal Empire. Sake Dean Mahomed was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both Kings George IV and William IV. Technology Fathullah Shirazi (c. 1582), a Persian polymath and mechanical engineer who worked for Akbar, developed a volley gun. Akbar was the first to initiate and utilize metal cylinder rockets known as bans particularly against War elephants, during the Battle of Sanbal. In the year 1657, the Mughal Army utilized rockets during the Siege of Bidar. Prince Aurangzeb's forces discharged rockets and grenades while scaling the walls. Sidi Marjan himself was mortally wounded after a rocket struck his large gunpowder depot and after twenty-seven day's of hard fighting Bidar was captured by the victorious Mughals. Later onward's the Mysorean rockets were upgraded versions of Mughal rockets utilized during the Siege of Jinji by the progeny of the Nawab of Arcot. Hyder Ali's father Fatah Muhammad the constable at Budikote, commanded a corps consisting of 50 rocketmen (Cushoon) for the Nawab of Arcot. Hyder Ali realized the importance of rockets and introduced advanced versions of metal cylinder rockets. These rockets turned fortunes in favor of the Sultanate of Mysore during the Second Anglo-Mysore War particularly during the Battle of Pollilur. Considered one of the most remarkable feats in metallurgy, the seamless globe was invented in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in 998 AH (1589-90 CE), and twenty other such globes were later produced in Lahore and Kashmir during the Mughal Empire. Before they were rediscovered in the 1980s, it was believed by modern metallurgists to be technically impossible to produce metal globes without any seams, even with modern technology. Another famous series of seamless celestial globes was produced using a lost-wax casting method in the Mughal Empire in 1070 AH (1659-1960 CE) by Muhammad Salih Tahtawi (from Thatta, Sind) with Arabic and Persian inscriptions. It is considered a major feat in metallurgy. These Mughal metallurgists pioneered the method of wax casting while producing these seamless globes. Gallery File:Weeks Edwin Lord An Open-Air Restaurant Lahore.jpg|The Bazaar outside the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore. File:Weeks Edwin Lord Royal Elephant.jpg|A Mughal War elephant guarding the gateway to the Grand Mosque in Mathura. File:Edwin Lord Weeks - The Taj Mahal - Walters 37316.jpg|A depiction of the Taj Mahal. File:Street Scene in India.JPG|Mughal troopers purchase copper utensils in the Bazaar. See also * Technology in the Mughal Empire * Mughal (tribe) * Mughal cuisine, a style of cooking * Mughal gardens, a style of gardens * Mughal painting, a style of painting * Mughal weapons * Mughal-e-Azam, an India film * Mirza Mughal, fifth son of Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor * Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent * Mongols, one of several ethnic groups * Persianate states * Persians in the Mughal Empire * Turco-Persian/Turco-Mongol * List of the Muslim Empires * List of Sunni Muslim dynasties * Islamic architecture References Further reading * Alam, Muzaffar. Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh & the Punjab, 1707–48 (1988) * Ali, M. Athar. "The Passing of Empire: The Mughal Case," Modern Asian Studies (1975) 9#3 pp. 385–396 in JSTOR, on the causes of its collapse * Black, Jeremy. "The Mughals Strike Twice," History Today (April 2012) 62#4 pp 22–26. full text online * Blake, Stephen P. "The Patrimonial-Bureaucratic Empire of the Mughals," Journal of Asian Studies (1979) 39#1 pp. 77–94 in JSTOR * Dale, Stephen F. The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals (Cambridge U.P. 2009) * * Faruqui, Munis D. "The Forgotten Prince: Mirza Hakim and the Formation of the Mughal Empire in India," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (2005) 48#4 pp 487–523 in JSTOR, on Akbar and his brother * Gommans; Jos. Mughal Warfare: Indian Frontiers and Highroads to Empire, 1500–1700 (Routledge, 2002) online edition * Gordon, S. The New Cambridge History of India, II, 4: The Marathas 1600–1818 (Cambridge, 1993). * Habib, Irfan. Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps (1982). * * * * Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire (The New Cambridge History of India) (1996) excerpt and online search * Richards, J. F. "Mughal State Finance and the Premodern World Economy," Comparative Studies in Society and History (1981) 23#2 pp. 285–308 in JSTOR Culture * Berinstain, V. Mughal India: Splendour of the Peacock Throne (London, 1998). * Busch, Allison. Poetry of Kings: The Classical Hindi Literature of Mughal India (2011) excerpt and text search * Preston, Diana and Michael Preston. '' Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire'' Walker & Company; ISBN 0802716733. * Schimmel, Annemarie. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture (Reaktion 2006) Society and economy * Chaudhuri, K. N. "Some Reflections on the Town and Country in Mughal India," Modern Asian Studies (1978) 12#1 pp. 77–96 in JSTOR * Habib, Irfan. Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps (1982). * Habib, Irfan. Agrarian System of Mughal India (1963, revised edition 1999). * Heesterman, J. C. "The Social Dynamics of the Mughal Empire: A Brief Introduction," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, (2004) 47#3 pp. 292–297 in JSTOR * Khan, Iqtidar Alam. "The Middle Classes in the Mughal Empire," Social Scientist (1976) 5#1 pp. 28–49 in JSTOR * Rothermund, Dietmar. An Economic History of India: From Pre-Colonial Times to 1991 (1993) Primary sources * * Hiro, Dilip, ed, Journal of Emperor Babur (Penguin Classics 2007) ** The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor ed. by W.M. Thackston Jr. (2002); this was the first autobiography in Islamic literature * Jackson, A.V. et al., eds. History of India (1907) v.9. Historic accounts of India by foreign travellers, classic, oriental, and occidental, by A.V.W. Jackson online edition * Older histories * Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy at Packard Humanities Institute – Other Persian Texts in Translation; historical books: Author List and Title List) * * * * * * * * * External links * Mughals and Swat * Mughal India an interactive experience from the British Museum * The Mughal Empire from BBC * Mughal Empire * The Great Mughals * Gardens of the Mughal Empire * Indo-Iranian Socio-Cultural Relations at Past, Present and Future, by M.Reza Pourjafar, Ali * A. Taghvaee, in [http://www.webjournal.unior.it/ Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony (Fabio Maniscalco ed.)], vol. 1, January–June 2006 * Adrian Fletcher's Paradoxplace — PHOTOS — Great Mughal Emperors of India * A Mughal diamond on BBC * Some Mughal coins with brief history Category:States and territories established in 1526 Category:Mughal Empire Category:1857 disestablishments Category:Muslim dynasties Category:Post-medieval history of Pakistan Category:History of medieval India Category:Historical Turkic states Category:Turkic dynasties